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The mother of lupine blooms! Around Mother’s Day of this year a prolific and memorable bloom of lupine peaked along the Big Sur coast. Locals told me that the last time the hillsides were covered with such density of lupine was back 1999, fifteen years prior. Perhaps the amazing display can be explained by the unprecedented weather conditions of the past year. A record dry 2013 was followed by an extremely dry January and February of this year. Hills that typically sprout with green grass by January remained golden well into February. In late February an impressive storm system dropped over a foot of rain along the Big Sur Coast. This storm only put a small dent in the ongoing exceptional drought conditions, but was enough to enable the lupine plants to sprout en masse. My hypothesis is the antecedent dry conditions prevented grasses from germinating and when the heavy rains arrived in late February the lupine were able to proliferate without being crowded out by other grasses which were unable to take hold over the winter. Additional rainfall in late March provided just enough water to keep the lupine growing and by early May entire hillsides were covered with amazingly dense gardens of lupine.

The lupine bloom was not specific to a particular location along the coast as we enjoyed spectacular displays at Prewitt Ridge, Boronda Ridge and Dolan Ridge (Dolan lupine photos here). The meadows were generally found between 800 feet to 2,000 feet in elevation. Prewitt Ridge was unique in that the lupine fields were interspersed with yellow poppies creating a fascinating mixture of colors in the foreground with Cone Peak, the King of the Big Sur Coast, looming in the background. Boronda Ridge featured perhaps the most impressive display with homogeneous, lush and dense lupine covering the spectacularly steep relief to the Pacific Ocean. The bloom was so prolific that the scent of lupine could be identified several hundred meters away from the flowers, a smell that became more pungent as one neared the meadows. This lupine bloom was an amazing sight to see and these photos are unaltered from what my camera captured.

The meadows on East Molera Ridge burst with color during the spring producing one of the best coastal wildflower displays along the Big Sur Coast. The top of Post Summit provides a logical culminating destination with sweeping views of the coast and the interior Ventana Wilderness from a perch 3,455 ft above sea level. I enjoyed these meadows last year so it was high on my list to return this spring. The wildflower meadows were similar to 2013, except perhaps more poppy this year (a prolific lupine bloom in certain spots of Big Sur would follow in a few weeks). The East Molera Ridge Trail begins either along a dirt road behind a white barn at the main parking area for Andrew Molera State Park or at a newly rehabilitated trailhead a couple hundred meters past the main Andrew Molera entrance along the highway one (there are a couple parking spots in a gravel turnoff). The path starts out as a fire road and narrows to single track at the base of East Molera Ridge. Continuing up, the single track makes a long switchback across the steep slope with views improving with each step. Ultimately the designated trail ends at a point on top of the ridge with a strip of redwoods and views across the Little Sur Valley to Pico Blanco.

From the end of the official trail, a well-used path continue south along grassy ridges and wonderful meadows for a couple miles. A one point you can either continue to follow the gradual path around a hillside, or take a steep shortcut straight up the hillside. The views of Point Sur, Andrew Molera, the Little Sur Valley, and Pico Blanco are remarkable and improve as you progress up the ridge. Pico Blanco, or “white peak,” is aptly named with a large deposit of exposed white limestone composing its distinctive pyramidal summit. The peak forms an aesthetic background for the wildflowers on East Molera Ridge. The grassy meadows end at a knoll (2,500 ft) and the final 1,000 feet of ascent to Post Summit is on a steep firebreak that has narrowed to a path through light brush (tame by Ventana standards). Note that there are ticks in this brush so make sure to check your skin and clothing after passage. Soon enough we were on the summit enjoying the views. One can continue along use paths to Manuel Peak and Pfieffer Big Sur State Park via Cabezo Prieto, which I have documented in the Cabezo Molera Loop post and also in photo album from a subsequent trip. Full wildflower photo Album; Panoramas.